RM1.1b sugar plant coming up in Johor

Sugar giant MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd (MSM) will invest US$259 million (RM1.1 billion) for the construction of Malaysia’s largest sugar refinery in Tanjung Langsat, Johor, to cater to the growing consumption in the country.

President and group chief executive officer Datuk Sheikh Awab Sheikh Abod said the country’s annual consumption of 1.4 million tonnes is anticipated to grow to 1.9 million tonnes between 2020 and 2025.

“That means by that time, we will be short of sugar, and when that happens, we have to import sugar. That’s the reason we are building this new refinery in Johor.”

A design, engineering procurement and construction agreement was signed today between MSM and Sharkara International, an affiliate of Thailand’s Sutech Engineering Co Ltd, for a two-year contract worth US$95.7 million.

MSM spent RM90 million cash to acquire 20.48ha plot of land for the country’s third sugar refinery, which is scheduled to be fully operational in the third quarter of 2017.

“Once it is fully operational, it will anchor future markets with a targeted production capacity of two million tonnes of refined sugar per year from 1.1 million tonnes currently.”

This will enable MSM to increase its annual production capacity to 3.25 million tonnes as well as leverage on its strong fundamentals over the years, said Sheikh Awab.